I woke up early this morning. Instead of laying in bed, lamenting that I couldn’t sleep, I actually got up. I took care of myself. I had breakfast. I took my medicine. Brushed my teeth, washed my face… all the things I have to scurry around doing while my kids are calling me from the other room, I actually got to do and ENJOY. I even got dressed in clothes that aren’t pajamas. Okay, so they’re yoga pants, but I get points for trying, right? And now, I’m going to actually try and get some work done while my kids are still sleeping. People, I haven’t been this proud of myself in a long time.
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Character Interview with Michaela from The Sphinx Project by Kate Hawkings
Today, I’d like to welcome Michaela from The Sphinx Project by Kate Hawkings to the blog! I just finished reading The Sphinx Project, and I loved it! You can check out my review HERE. I asked her some either/or questions as to what she would prefer. Welcome Michaela!
BREA: Michaela, do you prefer being by yourself or with others?
MICHAELA: It’s hard to decide because I’ve never really had much time to myself. I’ve managed to steal a few moments here and there since we left the labs though, and I’ve really enjoyed the peace.
BREA:Soda or coffee?
MICHAELA: I’ve never tried coffee, but it smells nice!
BREA: Car or motorbike?
MICHAELA: Motorbikes, they just makes me feel free.
BREA: Rock music or pop music?
MICHAELA: To be honest I don’t know the difference… I’ve liked all the music we’ve listened to though.
BREA: Going to stores or ordering online?
MICHAELA: I’ve not bought anything online before, but Mouse has. It seems so much easier.
BREA: Cake or ice cream?
MICHAELA: ICE CREAM!
BREA: Movie theatre or DVD?
MICHAELA: I’ve never been to a movie theatre OR watched a DVD before…
BREA: Book or magazine?
MICHAELA: Book… I’ve seen a couple of magazines since I got out, but they all seem to be about clothes.
BREA: Dressy clothes or casual clothes?
MICHAELA: Casual. I really don’t understand the frilly and lacy bits on the dressy clothes. I like to be able to move around without worrying about what I’m wearing.
BREA: Sleep in or get up early?
MICHAELA: Early. I like seeing the sun rise.
BREA: Italian or Mexican?
MICHAELA: I don’t think I’ve tried Mexican, but I did get to try pizza. It was awesome!
BREA: Which would you rather lose, you hair or your teeth?
MICHAELA: Hair, I could always wear a wig.
BREA: Chocolate or vanilla?
MICHAELA: Chocolate, definitely chocolate.
BREA: Money or love?
MICHAELA: I’ve never had money of my own, I can live without it. I’d take love any day.
BREA: Fly or read minds?
MICHAELA: Hmm, both could be hugely advantageous… On one hand I would always know what my opponent are going to do next. On the other, I would be able to get a proper view of our location and see things coming from miles away. Although it would probably be more sensible to choose mind reading, flight just tugs at me!
BREA: Lose your sight or hearing?
MICHAELA: Sight. My hearing would be more beneficial than my sight if I were only to have one of them.
Thanks so much for visiting with me today, Michaela! I really enjoyed your story, and can’t wait to see what happens to you next!
For those of you who haven’t picked up The Sphinx Project yet, you should! It’s great!
Something Random I Wrote Today
Today we were discussing the lost colony of Roanoke in my English class. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story, there were some settlers on Roanoke Island before the pilgrims settled at Jamestown, Virginia. My professor gave us three minutes to free-write about what we thought might have happened to the settlers that vanished. I didn’t end up deciding what I thought happened, but I thought I would share with you what I did write:
“Ellen! Grab James–they’re coming!”
Ellen glanced at the terrified face of her husband John. “But what of our belongings?”
“There’s no time. Leave everything.”
She grabbed her two-year-old son from the floor where he sat playing. He screamed his outrage at being disturbed. “Keep him quiet,” John ordered.
Picking up James’ favorite toy, she handed it to him and the child quieted. They ran for the door and opened it to find devastation.
So, what do you think? Should I continue this? Any theories as to what happened to the lost colony?
© Brea Essex 2011 ~ No part of this site (written or artwork) may be reproduced in anyway whatsoever without express written consent by Brea Essex.
Review: Elemental Reality by Cesya MaRae Cuono
Today we have the Elemental Reality Blog Tour stopping by! I recently had the opportunity to read and review Elemental Reality (Elemental #1) by Cesya MaRae Cuono
Synopsis:
When Callie Pierce was ten, her mother disappeared without a trace. On the eve of her disappearance twelve years later, the earth seemingly comes alive. The elements speak to Callie, and that’s only the beginning. Everything she has ever known was a twisted fabrication to protect her. Now the truth is set free. Callie and her sister are more powerful than any Faerie ever born. Now they have to use their powers to save their mother and family from the evil hands of fate that threaten to tear them apart. Welcome to her elemental reality.
Review:
I loved this! Faeries and hot Australian men—what’s not to like? The characters were fantastic (especially Oli!). It is a unique view of faerie mythology. I liked the magic of it all and the interaction between Callie and her sister Lola.
The ending just about killed me. Prepare for a huge cliffhanger! If it doesn’t have you scrambling for book two, I don’t know what will. Cesya, hurry up and write! We want to know what happens, and I need my Oli fix.
Fantastic debut! I can’t wait to read the rest of Callie’s story. I will definitely be picking up Battle Scars (Elemental #2) the day it’s available. Great job Cesya!
About the author:
Cesya MaRae Cuono hails from a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Alvernia University where she majored in Business Administration and also received her certificate of Multi-Media & Production makeup from Cosmix School of Makeup Artistry. You can find any updates from Cesya on her website at www.cesyacuonobooks.blogspot.com.
Writing Prompts: "Princess Pink"
Here’s this week’s writing prompt: drabble (100 words) * A Child * pink
“No, it has to be pink!” five-year-old Sarah exclaimed, stomping her foot.
“Why pink?” her mom asked. “Purple’s pretty too. Or, what about this yellow?”
“No!” Sarah shrieked. “Pink is prettier. Pink means princess.”
“Pink is for princesses? But princesses wear other colors too.”
“Pink,” Sarah insisted, sticking out her lower lip.
Her mother sighed. “But Sarah, they don’t have any pink.” She held up the purple dress in one hand, and the yellow dress in the other. “You have to pick another color.”
“I’m a princess and princesses wear pink.”
“Fine.” Her mom put back the dresses. She was tired of arguing. “We’ll try somewhere else.”
© Brea Essex 2011 ~ No part of this site (written or artwork) may be reproduced in anyway whatsoever without express written consent by Brea Essex.
*Disclaimer: I do not own the photo used in this post.
I Hope He’ll Forgive Me
Here’s this week’s prompt:
300-500 words * original female character * I hope you’ll forgive me
“Renée, how am I going to look him in the face at every single family gathering for the rest of my life?” Isabel asked her sister.
“I doubt he’ll be at every family gathering!” Renée said. “His son is marrying your daughter. That doesn’t mean that our families have to socialize.”
“Yes, but I don’t want Alexis to feel torn between her family and her in-laws.”
“She won’t. Caleb wouldn’t do that to her.”
“But his father might.” Isabel sighed. “I don’t know if Nicholas will ever forgive me.”
Renée took a sip of her coffee and then leaned forward. “It’s not your fault. If anyone needs to ask forgiveness, it’s him.”
Isabel crossed her arms on the table in front of her. “I gave up on him. Who knows what would have happened if I had stuck around?”
“Nick treated you like dirt.”
“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Isabel said defensively.
“Your whole relationship was a mess.”
Isabel snorted indelicately. “If you could even call it a relationship.”
“Nick was a jerk, plain and simple.”
“He wasn’t always bad. There were times when things were really great.”
“And times when he was completely obnoxious and ignored you. He messed with your head and then dropped you—repeatedly.”
Isabel sighed. She shouldn’t have brought this up to her sister in the first place. Renée had extremely strong opinions about Nicholas . . . she always had. After all, she’d been there to see Isabel’s heart broken by him over and over again. “Well, let’s just hope Caleb doesn’t take after his father.”
“I doubt he does. He actually asked Alexis to marry him after all.”
Isabel stared out the window, watching people walk by. “That could have been us. Maybe I gave up too soon.”
“You put up with his yo-yoing emotions way longer than any sane person would,” Renée said.
“Stop blaming him for everything, Renée! It wasn’t just him. I’m to blame too. I think he may have been starting to come around, but then I lost my temper.”
Renée shook her head. “You’re still delusional about him after all these years. Do I need to spell it out for you yet again? He. Didn’t. Love. You.”
Isabel stared at Renée, angry tears beginning to well in her eyes. “I can’t believe you. Even if that was true, you don’t have to be so hateful about it.”
“I’m sorry. I just hate that he’s still hurting you after all these years.”
“I understand. But you’re really not helping.” She drummed her fingers against the table. “Now the question is: Do I tell Lexi or not?”
“Don’t tell her. You don’t want your daughter getting freaked out and ending her relationship just because her mother dated her future father-in-law.”
“Yeah, that would freak her out. Okay, we’ll keep this between us.”
“Agreed.”
“Maybe I should find someway to apologize to Nicholas,” Isabel said.
“He doesn’t deserve an apology. He needs to apologize to you. Just let it go.”
“Fine. I’ll let it go,” Isabel agreed. For now.
*Note: I may eventually extend this into a novel. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of it!
© Brea Essex 2011 ~ No part of this site (written or artwork) may be reproduced in anyway whatsoever without express written consent by Brea Essex.
*Disclaimer: I do not own the photo used in this post.
Writing Prompts: Medical Professional
Here’s the prompt that I chose for this week: write for 20 minutes * A Medical Professional * the third time is the charm
Dr. Weston threw down her scalpel in disgust as the heart monitor gave out the worst sound she could possibly hear: the sound of yet another patient flat lining. She pulled down her mask. “I can’t believe I lost another one.”
“Don’t worry Doctor. You’ll get that grant,” an intern tried to encourage her.
She turned. “I’m not worried about the grant! Well, I am, but only because it will help these patients that I’m trying so hard to save.”
“Sorry, Doctor,” he apologized.
“This is still an experimental treatment,” the surgical fellow reminded her. “We still have plenty of time to perfect it.”
“Yes, but in the meantime, these patients keep dying!”
“Well, we have another scheduled for this afternoon,” the fellow reminded her. “You know what they say: ‘The third time is the charm.’”
Dr. Weston stared at him. “This is no time for your jokes. I need to go research some more. You should also. I’ll be expecting you in on that surgery this afternoon.”
She banged through the doors of the operating room to go wash up. She looked through the window separating the room from the OR to make sure no one was watching and then she slid to the floor. “I’m never going to get this treatment working,” she muttered to herself.
She heard someone coming so she quickly stood back to her feet and stripped off her gloves. She hit the lever to turn on the water and began scrubbing her hands furiously. “Everything okay, Doctor?” the intern asked.
“Yes, fine. Meet Dr. Roacke and me in the conference room after you finish cleaning up. We have a lot more work to do if we want to be ready for the next surgery.”
She didn’t wait for her intern to agree. She knew he would be there. He had to be if he wanted to stay in the internship program. She left the OR and headed for her office before deciding to go to the cafeteria instead. She needed coffee badly. Maybe it would help her concentrate. Maybe it would help her find an answer.
Writing Prompts: Childhood Mythical Creature
Today’s writing prompt: drabble (100 words) * A Mythical Creature or Idea * childhood memories
When I was eight, I carried a silver mirrored compact with me everywhere. In this compact lived my “faery”, Daphne. I called her a forest sunlight faery. When the sun hit the mirror just so, it would project a light onto the wall. That light was Daphne. I’d move the mirror around so Daphne’s light would “dance” and I would dance and jump around with her. I’m not sure what happened to that compact, but I’d love to get another one. Maybe I’ll find Daphne still residing in the light.
Writing Prompts: "Nothing to Say"
I’m back with Tuesday Writing Prompts. (I really need a better name for this, don’t I? Any suggestions?) Each Tuesday, I’ll be sharing short stories I write using prompts from http://creativewritingprompts.com/
Today’s prompt is: Write a mini-story (100 to 250 words) that begins with: “They had nothing to say to each other.” So, without further ado (I love that phrase for some reason!) here it is: “Nothing to Say”.
They had nothing to say to each other. The time for talking was over. They sat quietly, both fuming in their silence.
Finally, Blake stood. “I’m outta here.”
Janessa glared at him. She wanted to scream, but she’d already done enough of that. “Fine. Go,” she said vehemently.
Blake paused. He hadn’t expected her to agree. He’d expected her to cry, scream, beg . . . something other than her seeming indifference. Just moments ago, they’d been shouting at each other. Now she was showing about as much emotion as she would if he were a stranger. “I’m really leaving,” he reiterated.
“I said go. You don’t need my permission.”
“Fine.” He headed for the door, pausing to scoop up his keys from the hall table. He reached for the door handle and stopped. When he turned to look at her, she still remained in the same position, sitting rigidly straight in a chair. She was staring away from him. He shook his head and stepped into the hall, slamming the door behind him.
Janessa cringed at the noise of the door closing. It sounded so final. He had actually left. She sat there in shock for a moment, then began to sob.
Hope you enjoyed this little story. As always, feel free to leave feedback in the comments below.
Moira’s Blog 6.30.11
Be sure to check out how Team Promethiad handled this week’s challenge on Escape! You can see it here: Escape: Challenge Four: The Valley of Death
*Warning: This post contains some graphic language. Moira likes to say things how she sees it.*
Sooo . . . Brea’s letting me take over her blog on Thursdays now. I can’t exactly post on my team’s blog, because then they might find out about Toby and me—and that definitely wouldn’t be good. I mean, I’m sure they’ll find out eventually, but now’s not a good time. Apparently the show knows though . . . and they don’t seem to care. I’m pretty sure our teammates would kill us.
Anyway, we made it through the desert alive. I don’t know what genius decided it would be a good idea to traipse through Death Valley in June, but we survived it. Lily whined the whole time (big surprise). I’m just glad the idiots finally listened to me for once and decided to go through it early in the morning before it got hot. They wanted to sleep in and wait until the sun came up. When I pointed out that the sun makes things hot, they finally agreed. I think it’s sad that I seem to be the smartest one in the group. The only other one that has any sense is Will, but he doesn’t say much.
Toby’s team went to Florida, so it’ll be a while before we can sneak off and see each other again. I did get a short email from him. He probably doesn’t have good service in the swamp. I know I haven’t had good service here. I can’t wait until this whole damn thing is over and we can go home. Actually, I think I’ll kidnap Toby and take him home with me. His mom sounds like a crazy bitch. I think he’d like Santa Cruz, as long as we steer clear of the ocean.
Chance mentioned some sort of big reward if we managed to make it through this week’s challenge, so hopefully next week I’ll be blogging from someplace fun! See you later people!
~ Moira
Brea Essex 